Reece James suffers fresh injury as Chelsea captain's fitness nightmare continues

Chelsea captain Reece James has been hit with another injury blow. The 24-year-old right-back had only made a comeback in October after being sidelined since the start of the season.

However, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed that James will not feature in Saturday’s game against Leicester due to a hamstring concern.

Maresca expressed optimism that the issue isn’t a serious one but emphasised caution given James’ injury-riddled past.

“Reece, unfortunately, felt something small and we don’t want to take any risks this weekend,” Maresca remarked. “Hopefully it’s not something longer. He felt something, he has to be out and then we’ll see. It’s his hamstring, a muscle problem.”

Despite James’ challenges in maintaining a run of games, Maresca remains hopeful for a turnaround. “For sure,” he said. “But in this moment is not happening.”

Maresca added on the challenge of returning to his former club Leicester this weekend: “Excited and also thankful because it was a fantastic season. The owner, his family; they are fantastic people.

“They care for players, staff and all the people inside the club. You can see that. It’s not an easy game, absolutely. We can see it is always complicated, no matter where the teams are in the table.

“We are going to make sure we are focused and prepared. We will prepare to win in the best way. They know exactly what we do, it’s on both sides.

“We are going to try to adjust the small details to see if we can do something different. It’s more from their side that they know us better than we know them.”